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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Finance, marketing make nation's top 20

By Sookhan Ho

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 20 - February 8, 1996

Recent national surveys of academic research productivity ranked the finance
and marketing departments of the Pamplin College of Business among the nation's
top 20. The authors of both surveys also pointed out the positive and "very
highly significant" relationship between publication and institutional
prestige, as measured by such rankings as U.S. News and World Report's
annual listings of leading schools.

The Department of Finance was ranked 20th in terms of total number of
scholarly articles published in finance journals over a five-year period. The
study, titled "Finance Research Productivity and Influence," was published in
the December '95 issue of The Journal of Finance. It examined
differences in finance research productivity and influence across 661 academic
institutions from 1989 through 1993.

The authors were four faculty members from Lehigh University, Case Western
Reserve University, and the University of Cincinnati. They found that 40
institutions accounted for more than half of all the articles published in 16
leading journals, and that 66 institutions accounted for two-thirds of the
articles. "Influence is more skewed," the authors said, "with as few as 20
institutions accounting for 50 percent of all citations to articles in these
journals."

Interim finance head George Morgan said his department takes pride in its
research accomplishments and its contribution to the reputation of the Pamplin
College. Virginia Tech, he added, was the only Virginia university represented
in the top 50.

In a separate, informal survey, the Department of Marketing was ranked 17th in
terms of number of publications, during the 1990-1995 period, in three leading
journals specializing in consumer behavior, Journal of Consumer
Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of
Marketing Research. The listing was compiled by a University of Cincinnati
faculty member and published in the fall newsletter of the Society of Consumer
Psychology.

Marketing head David Brinberg added that his department was fourth in terms of
service on editorial boards of the main marketing journals, with marketing
faculty members represented nine times on the boards of the Journal of
Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Marketing
Research. "These indices are both imperfect measures of national
visibility, to be sure, but they consistently reflect our status as one of the
top 20 marketing departments in the U.S."

Noting the link between research and prestige, the Journal of Finance
authors said prestigious business schools tend to have high research
productivity and influence." Research productivity, the author of the marketing
survey said, "is the single most important determinant of business-school
reputation."